美国政府下令高通将股东大会推迟30天US Treasury delays Qualcomm vote

来源：FT中文网 2018-03-06 07:09

The US government has ordered chipmaker Qualcomm to delay a forthcoming shareholder meeting by 30 days as it investigates whether a proposed takeover by a Singapore-based rival Broadcom would put national security at risk.

Company shareholders were set to vote today on whether to replace six of its directors with candidates put forward by Broadcom, which is seeking to force through a $142bn takeover — the biggest tech deal to date.

The US Treasury department, which leads an inter-agency regulator called the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, said that a 30-day delay of the vote “will afford Cfius the ability to investigate fully Broadcom’s proposed acquisition of Qualcomm”.

领导跨部门监管机构——美国外国投资委员会(CFIUS)的美国财政部表示，延迟30天投票“将使CFIUS能够全面调查博通对高通的拟议收购”。

The delay is the latest escalation in a hostile takeover battle, as Qualcomm’s management look to maintain the company’s independence.

此次延迟是这场敌意收购战的最新升级，高通管理层希望维持该公司的独立性。

The move highlights Washington’s determination to use its political clout to review and potentially challenge deals that could transfer US technology to a foreign company. In recent weeks, US lawmakers have been vocal with concerns about any potential takeover.

“What happened today is absolutely unprecedented,” said a Washington-based lawyer who has worked on Cfius-related cases for more than 20 years. “For the government to delay a crucial shareholder vote so that they can look into the case more deeply shows the extent of their concern about this deal.”

US lawmakers are worried about Broadcom’s longstanding relationship with Huawei, the China telecoms equipment maker that the US government has warned poses a national security risk. Qualcomm and Huawei are going head to head in the development of chipsets for new generation 5G devices.